The City of Edinburgh Council manages health and safety and welfare in a way that

• Takes all reasonable steps to protect the health and safety and well-being of our employees, third parties. Including third parties such as members of the public, contractors, service users and pupils
• Demonstrates our commitment to improving our health and safety performance
• Compliant with health and safety statutory and regulatory requirements, and all relevant approved codes of practice and guidance. 

The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to planning and delivering safe and outstanding Outdoor Learning. Our outdoor centres at Bangholm, Benmore and Lagganlia, provide safe and high-quality instruction, resources and experiences across a wide range of activities, mainly in remote and wild locations.

Here you will find key safety resources and alerts to support planning and conduct when organising and delivering safe and stimulating Outdoor Learning.

Due to an incident in another local authority area, please note the following guidance:

The waterspout must be free from ALL obstructions when the kettle is in use. Always remove the stopper or cork before lighting the kettle. The stopper or cork is specifically used for transporting cold water.

How to use the Kelly kettles

Trampolines are fun, and we want you to enjoy your visits to Edinburgh trampoline parks, but we want you to stay safe at all times, but accidents can happen. All CEC Approved trampoline parks works closely with industry and regulatory organisations to provide you with a safe place to have fun with your friends, family or colleagues, but you must help yourself by understanding and following all of our safety rules, which includes following the instructions of park marshals at all times. View our Approved Providers page for a full list.

The Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning document provides a useful summary of health and safety considerations. Explore City of Edinburgh excursions.

Our activities are carefully risk assessed and regularly reviewed by our highly qualified Instructors and Operations Managers.  If you require specific risk assessments for any of our Outdoor Centres please contact the relevant centre.

We have provided some sample risk assessments to support excursion planning. These are generic examples and should be adapted accordingly.

Generic Excursion Travel Risk Assessment (docx 1.1mb)

Risk Assessment Water Provision (docx 1000kb)

Water Provision Risk Assessment Guidance July 2018 (pdf 318kb)

Dof E Risk Assessment Sample (docx 1000kb)

Licensing aims to ensure that activity providers follow good safety management practices.

The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) is currently sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Health and Safety Executive is currently designed as the AALA.

Each of our outdoor centres holds a licence and are assessed each year externally.

Benmore Outdoor Centre
Licence No: L80167
Activities Covered

Bangholm Outdoor Centre
Licence No: L91171
Activities Covered

Lagganlia Outdoor Centre
Licence No: L84407
Activities Covered

Find out more about licensing via https://www.hse.gov.uk/aala/

Search for a licence at aals.hse.gov.uk/aals

The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting and protecting the welfare of everyone. Our staff undertake significant training, including our Outdoor Learning instructors achieving National Governing Body qualifications. We invest in our workforce and their development and avoid relying on just in-house training. Our vast range of adventurous activity requires the highest standard of training and safety systems.